BLOG: White Discharge While Pregnant – Worrisome but Normal

By Word of Mom Blogs

Last night brought me a moment of worry. During yet another trip to the bathroom, I discovered I was experiencing white discharge while pregnant. I was freaked out because the loss of my first pregnancy last year began with some brownish white vaginal discharge. As I know now, the mucus discharge during pregnancy that I experienced at that time was the beginning of a miscarriage. So, although perfectly normal, any amount, quality, and color discharge during my current pregnancy leaves me feeling a little unsettled, which is exactly the emotion that the white discharge while pregnant gave me last night.

As I know from my copious amounts of research about pregnancy, white discharge while pregnant is completely normal. In fact, most women experience an increase in vaginal discharge during pregnancy. As I learned here on What to Expect, leukorrhea (the medical term for a thick, whitish or yellowish vaginal discharge) occurs because of an increase in estrogen in the body. The purpose of such mucus discharge during pregnancy is to protect the vagina from infection and other foreign substances. Thus, white discharge while pregnant is good as well as normal.

However, my knowledge of the purpose and importance of a white mucus discharge during pregnancy does little to assuage my worry in the heat of the moment. During yet another trip to the bathroom, I proceeded to wipe with toilet paper. For some reason, I looked at myself as I was wiping. I was startled to discover a blob of slightly yellowed white mucus discharge. I quickly finished my potty business, washed my hands, and ran to my husband.

As calmly and as unemotionally as I could, I told him about the white discharge while pregnant that I had discovered. I asked him to confirm my knowledge that a mucus discharge during pregnancy is normal. We discussed the worrisome situation and came to some conclusions. First, because I was not experiencing any cramping, nothing was probably wrong. Second, because the discharge was white with only a slight yellow tinge, nothing was probably wrong. Third, I had been experiencing an increase in watery discharge lately (enough that I prefer to use a panty liner during the day to protect my undies), another increase in discharge meant that nothing was probably wrong.

So, in conclusion, nothing is wrong. The white discharge while pregnant that I experienced last night, although a little worrisome because of my history, was just a normal mucus discharge during pregnancy that many women have to put up with. In fact, the increase in my vaginal discharge as of late is a good thing. My body is doing its best to protect my precious little Poppy. Now, I just need to relax should I discover (and I probably will) any more white discharge while pregnant.

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